Oblomov Posted June 14, 2007 Share Posted June 14, 2007 I think a lot of us readers have almost accidentally stumbled across stories by some relatively unknown author - one that captured our imagination and made us go all out to try and get his ot her other works. If you have any such hidden favourites, please let us know about them. My own is an obscure Canadian writer called Thomas H Raddall, who lived and worked in Nova Scotia in the first half of the 20th century. He was actually born in Kent, but his family moved to Halifax around the turn of the 20th century. Raddall is well known and respected in Nova Scotia (there is a Library and instiute dedicated to him in Halifax), but hardly anyone knows him outside his province. His stories are mostly short fictional and non-fictional works of early to middle white Canadian settlers and their interaction with each other and the 'Micmac' natives. Despite this narrow field from which he operated, Raddall had a very human way of depicting his characters (similar to Somerst Maugham in some ways) that I found (and still do) fascinating. He gave the impression of being distinctly ahead of his times in his attitude to racial and sexual discrimination and often wove interesting stories around wafer-thin plotlines (there is one centered completely around a river ferry crossing, for example). I first read one of Thomas Raddall's stories in a 1982 issue of Reader's Digest where his "The Reluctant Bride" was published as a fiction feature. It took me almost 15 more years to find another story by him, but I now have a good collection. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Polka Dot Rock Posted June 14, 2007 Share Posted June 14, 2007 What a brilliant idea for a thread! Thanks for sharing your own little literary treasure, Oblomov Sadly, I can't think of anyone I've really stumbled across accidentally... I think I can blame that on too many years of course reading lists I keep meaning to go to Hay-on-Wye one day and find a hidden gem there (seeing as they have 30+ book shops!). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Freewheeling Andy Posted June 15, 2007 Share Posted June 15, 2007 I've been intrigued by a bloke called Donald Harrington since I read about him in another novel. Apparently his "Architecture of the Arkansas Ozarks" is the great novel of Arkansas. It's weird to call myself obsessed, though, as I've never read anything of his. All the other stuff that interested that might have been obscure once is now more widely popular like Ismael Kadare. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wrathofkublakhan Posted June 19, 2007 Share Posted June 19, 2007 I guess my obscure guy would be Robert Anton Wilson ~ though it's possible there may be some fans in this well-read forum. Heavy on satire and science, he writes a lot about quantum mechanics and weaves those ideas into his plot lines; sometimes making a story in which in the past story the person was a different sex and had odd urges that were hard to explain. A friend to Dr. Timothy Leary, the influence of the drug culture is well established -- if anyone was following "the problem with .... classics" thread and the brief discussion about modernism, these books would be post-modern and, for me, delightful and funny and smart. He is probably best known for his collaboration with Robert Shea in writing The Illuminatus!, but I also enjoyed his: [*]Schrödinger's Cat Trilogy (1980–1981) [*]The Universe Next Door [*]The Trick Top Hat [*]The Homing Pigeon [*]The Historical Illuminatus Chronicles [*]The Earth Will Shake (1982) [*]The Widow's Son (1985) [*]Nature's God (1991) and his.... Cosmic Trigger I: The Final Secret of the Illuminati (1977) (wikipedia links) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oblomov Posted June 19, 2007 Author Share Posted June 19, 2007 Wilson's Schrodinger Cat Trilogy is available from Amazon marketplace. Sounds interesting. I have always been intrigued by Erwin Schrodinger's way of interpreting Quantum theories. The best book to illustrate it that I have read is In Search of Schrodinger's Cat by John Gribbin. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
libri vermis Posted October 28, 2009 Share Posted October 28, 2009 Mark Helprin is who comes to mind when I think "obscure". He has written very few novels, I can count them on one hand. Each one is very different from the other, but his poetic prose is always breathtaking. It flows, and you find yourself wanting to underline passages and savor them in contemplation. He also has three collections of short stories, and these are just as fine as his novels. There is only one book of his I have not yet read. For anyone that is interested, here is a listing of his works. Novels: Refiner's Fire (The one I have not read) Winter's Tale A Soldier of the Great War (his best, in my opinion) Memoir From Antproof Case Freddy and Fredricka Short Story Collections: A Dove of the East and Other Stories Ellis Island and Other Stories The Pacific and Other Stories Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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